The Orphans' Tales
by hinatasgreatestfan
Summary: When Naruto and Sasuke witness the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre together, what new adventures will result?  NOT YAOI!
1. An Uncertain Beginning

A/N: Yeah, I know, I have too many fics going on as is, but here's another one! This will probably be the last new fic I add for a while. And yes, I do know the Uchiha Massacre happened when Sasuke and Naruto were 7 or 8. I changed that on purpose. Hope you guys enjoy. Oh, and if you're one of my long-time fans, the fic I've been warning you guys about? Yeah, it's this one!

Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply. As the Third Hokage, the aging man had been leading the Village Hidden in the Leaves for far too many years. He was now in his seventies, and he had seen far too much. Four years ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox had attacked the village. His successor, and predecessor, Minato Namikaze, the famed Fourth Hokage and Yellow Flash of the Leaf, had sacrificed his life to seal the demon fox into a newborn child, Naruto Uzumaki. Minato had been unable to ask another family to sacrifice their child, so Minato had used his own son, though very few in the village knew this. The results of Minato's sacrifice were that the now-aging Hiruzen had been forced to take the mantle of Hokage back upon himself and that Naruto was ostracized by the village. It made Hiruzen simply sick to realize that his beloved village was full of idiots who would make a four-year-old child into an outcast for something over which he had no control. He wished dearly that he could do more for the boy, but, without revealing his heritage, he couldn't. While he was thinking about these things, Hiruzen was indulging in one of his very few hobbies: calligraphy.

Hiruzen's thoughts were interrupted when a Chunin burst into his office. "Lord Hokage, it's an emergency!" the Chunin exclaimed.

Hiruzen sighed; he was ashamed to admit it, but he had no idea what this man's name was. There were just too many ninja in the village for him to know them all by sight. "I hope you're not interrupting me for some trivia," he said. "And don't tell me it's Naruto again!" During the last year or so since Naruto had gotten steady enough on his feet, the boy had made an extreme nuisance of himself by pulling pranks almost constantly. Hiruzen recognized the pranks for what they were: a cry for acknowledgement. It really tore the old man up that he couldn't do _more_ for the boy.

"It is Naruto again!" the Chunin said in exasperation.

Hiruzen took a long drag on his pipe and exhaled the smoke as a deep sigh. "What did he do this time?" he asked in a long-suffering voice.

The ninja sighed. This was going to take some explaining. "Apparently, when you enrolled Naruto into the Academy earlier this year, Fugaku Uchiha believed it was a good idea to also enroll his son, Sasuke," he said.

The Hokage sighed. "Yes, I knew that. I'm not really sure what Fugaku intended to accomplish by doing that, but I was fully aware he did it," he told the man. "Get to the point, please."

The Chunin nodded. "It seems Naruto and Sasuke have had some bad blood between them almost from the start, and now Naruto has done something insane. I think it was originally just a prank, but now it's gone too far. We have no idea where Sasuke is," he reported.

Hiruzen sighed deeply. "Oh, Naruto, what are you doing?" he asked rhetorically.

Meanwhile

Naruto grinned at the dark-haired boy tied to the tree in front of him. It had taken some doing, but he'd managed to wrestle the Uchiha into submission. "I told you I could beat you!" Naruto gloated. "I guess the great Uchiha clan really isn't so great if even a nobody like me can beat you!"

Sasuke snarled. It was true he'd been gloating about his clan being the most powerful in the village, but he'd never said that _he_ was as strong as the rest of his clan. Still, this was _beyond_ humiliating. Naruto was, as he'd just said himself, a nobody. He had no parents, no siblings, no nothing. He was just...himself. He was alone, there was no one to claim him, no one to care. Yet here Sasuke, an Uchiha, was, tied to a tree, unable to do anything about the fact that he had been soundly beaten by this nobody! Sasuke closed his eyes and bit back tears; he would _not_ give Naruto the satisfaction of seeing him cry! Taking a deep breath, Sasuke turned his dark-eyed gaze on Naruto. "What is the point of this, Naruto? Why attack me like this?"

"Well, I figured if I can prove myself against the so-called prodigy of the class, the Uchiha, the others will have to see me, acknowledge me, whether they like it or not. Maybe I'll finally get some friends!" the blond declared.

Sasuke thought about what the blond had said. His voice when he spoke of getting friends had sounded...almost desperate. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice a mix of surprise and curiosity.

Naruto sighed. "I've been trying everything since I can remember to make friends with someone..._anyone._ Last night, I saw some girl getting picked on by a bunch of older guys. I stepped in and tried to stop them, but they all turned on me and beat me up. When I came to, I saw her getting dragged off by some guy with eyes that looked just like hers. I saved her from them...and I'm still not worth being friends with, apparently. So I thought, maybe if I can prove I'm not worthless by beating someone, maybe then I'll be worth being friends with...so I decided to try to beat you," he told the bound boy.

Sasuke thought hard about Naruto's words. He'd never really realized just how alone the blond was. Sure, he knew Naruto had no family, but not even a single friend? He shuddered. _"I hate to think what I'd be like if I was that alone,"_ he thought to himself. Turning to Naruto, he told the blond, "I may not know exactly how your life has been, Naruto, but I do know how it is to not have any friends. I don't have any, either." Naruto drew back a bit in shock; he'd assumed that Sasuke had all kinds of friends. "Now, come on, untie me, it's getting late."

Naruto looked at the sky; it was, indeed, almost dark. He came to the tree and untied the ropes binding Sasuke to it. "So, now what?" he asked.

Sasuke looked around, realizing after a moment that he had no idea where he was. Turning to Naruto, he answered, "You'll have to help me get out of here, first, I have no idea where we are. That aside, though, if you're so desperate for a friend, why not me?"

Naruto looked at the Uchiha boy in shock. "Are you...asking me to be your friend, Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke turned a small smile on the blond. "Yeah, I am, Naruto," he said after a minute. "We're both alone, neither of us have friends, and I'm sure we could both use one, so why not one another?" He extended a hand toward Naruto as he spoke.

Naruto took Sasuke's hand and shook it. "Friends, then," he said with a huge beaming smile on his face.

Sasuke nodded. "Friends," he answered. "Now, friend, can you help me get out of here?"

xxxxxx

Naruto and Sasuke approached the Uchiha compound a few minutes later to find the entire place steeped in darkness. Sasuke began to get tense and looked worried. He commented, half to himself, half to Naruto, "The lights should be on by now."

Naruto's hand drifted to the kunai knife he had in his pocket; the Hokage had given it to him as a gift when he first enrolled in the Academy. He wasn't very skilled with the knife yet, true, but his opponent wouldn't know that. He didn't pull it just yet, but it was ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.

Naruto's fingers had just wrapped around the hilt of the kunai when he and Sasuke heard a sound that made their blood run cold. It was a loud scream or roar, it was hard to tell which, but whatever had produced that sound was both extremely angry and in extreme pain. It was worse for Sasuke, though; he recognized that voice! "It's Itachi!" he cried out. Naruto looked at him in confusion for a moment. Sasuke elaborated, "That scream. It's my brother!" No more needed to be said; the two took off at a dead run toward the sound that had so chilled them.

Upon arriving in the center of the Uchiha Compound, Naruto and Sasuke saw two figures squaring off, seemingly about to fight. One figure, by far the shorter of the two, seemed to notice the two youngsters' arrival, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued to glare at the taller figure. "I agreed to not interfere with your plan tonight on the condition that you leave anyone who was innocent ALONE!" the shorter figure growled. Naruto briefly noted that Sasuke was watching the shorter figure with undisguised awe and admiration in his dark eyes, which led the blond to assume that this was Itachi.

"That's true, I did say I'd leave the innocent ones alive. I did," the taller figure said back, his voice deep, serious, somewhat gravelly. He gestured around at the multitude of corpses that lay around. Naruto heard Sasuke draw a breath through his teeth as the dark-haired boy realized that all around him lay the bodies of his clan...his family. They were all dead! The taller figure leaned forward slightly, revealing to Naruto and Sasuke that his face was covered by an orange swirl mask. "The innocent members of your clan are still alive!" Then, the figure turned slightly and seemed to notice Naruto and Sasuke for the first time. _"Ah, so the Nine-Tails has come to me,"_ he thought. He lunged at Naruto.

Itachi, seeing the figure lunge at his brother, froze for a split second in immense fear. Itachi felt a pain in his eyes, then suddenly everything was so much sharper and clearer than it had ever been, even with his Sharingan active. Itachi screamed, "YOU WILL NOT HURT SASUKE!" and focused his chakra in panic.

To Naruto and Sasuke's shock, a huge figure sprang to life around them. The figure, which seemed to be _made_ of flame somehow, protected them and prevented the as-yet-unnamed figure from getting to them. Itachi's eyes filled with shock briefly as he realized what he had done. Then he turned to the figure and spoke again, his voice soft, yet hard at the same time. "Ah, I really should thank you, Madara," he said. "You have allowed me to finally awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. Nevertheless, you are my enemy, and I will _not_ allow you to lay your hands on my brother!"

The man, Madara as Itachi called him, turned to face Itachi. "You will sacrifice your own life to protect your little brother, Itachi?" he asked. "You know you are no match for me. Even with your new Sharingan, you would stand no chance against me." He shifted his mask a bit, showing Itachi his own red-and-black eye.

Itachi stood perfectly still, his back ramrod straight. "I will do what it takes, Madara. You will _not_ have Sasuke!" he told the man. Turning to Sasuke and Naruto, he added, "Don't worry, boys, he can't get you in there."

Itachi was about to charge at the man when another figure appeared on the scene. "Itachi?" the figure asked. "What's going on here?"

Before Itachi could respond, Madara told the four people who were present, "I'll be seeing you all again." Sasuke and Naruto watched in shock as a vortex seemed to open in front of the masked man before drawing him _into_ it. Moments later, nothing was left of the man at all.

The new arrival spoke to Itachi again. "Is everyone all right?" he asked.

Itachi was the first one to answer. "Hiashi? Is that you?" he asked. The man nodded. Itachi bowed slightly. "Lord Hyuga, I am in your debt. I would not have stood a chance against that man."

The man, Hiashi Hyuga, simply responded, "And yet you would have willingly defended the young people of our village with your life. Your Will of Fire is strong indeed, Itachi." He gave a small smile to the youth. Itachi bowed again, acknowledging the compliment. He then turned to the two kids inside the flaming figure. "Could you let them out of there now?" Itachi nodded, and, within moments, the figure was gone. "What was that?" Hiashi asked curiously. "It was the spike of chakra from that thing that drew my attention. And I ask again, what is going on here?"

Itachi drew a deep breath. "Let's take these two to the Hokage, I'll explain everything there...he needs to hear this anyway," he answered after a moment. Hiashi nodded. Itachi lifted Sasuke up onto his shoulders, and Hiashi, to Naruto's surprise, lifted the blond boy into his arms gently. The four then proceeded toward the Hokage Tower. It was late in the evening, but it was highly likely that the Hokage would still be in his office.

xxxxxx

Hiruzen looked up when the odd procession entered his office. "Itachi? Hiashi? What are you two doing here? And why have you brought Naruto and Sasuke?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

Itachi bowed at his waist and responded, "Lord Hokage, I am here to give a report on a situation that occurred within the walls of the Uchiha Compound during the last hour." Hiruzen nodded and gestured for Itachi to stand up and go on. "The entire Uchiha Clan has been killed."

The next moment, several things happened at once. Sasuke, his worst fears realized, broke into silent tears. Naruto stiffened in shock and rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, letting him know his friend was still there for him. Hiashi gasped and stared at Itachi like the ten-year-old had grown a second head. Hiruzen gasped and dropped his pipe. The pipe landing on the floor produced the only sound in the otherwise silent room. The Hokage formed a few quick hand signs then touched Naruto and Sasuke on their foreheads. The two four-year-olds fell into a deep sleep within seconds. Itachi and Hiashi set the two down in two chairs near the back of the room. The Hokage spoke again after a moment. "Explain this, Itachi," he said simply.

Itachi nodded. "Some time back, my clan began to plan a coup to take over the Leaf Village," he said. "I found out about this, as I reported a while ago." Here the Hokage nodded. Itachi continued, "Some time after that, I was approached by a masked man who called himself Madara. He claims to be Madara Uchiha, but I think he's lying. I'm not sure why, just an instinctive feeling that he's not telling me the truth. Regardless, I eventually enlisted his help to...dissuade the clan from the coup. Tonight, he apparently decided it was time, and he attacked and killed every single member of my clan...except for me and Sasuke, that is. When I found him, I was about to try to attack him when Naruto and Sasuke showed up. He saw them and made to attack them. I guess the fear of him attacking Sasuke unlocked my Mangekyo Sharingan, and I was able to protect them using Susano'o." Here, Itachi turned to Hiashi.

"The massive chakra spike of him using...Susano'o was it?" he began. Itachi nodded. "The spike of chakra from that jutsu attracted my attention, and I went to investigate. I found Itachi and the masked man squaring off and Naruto and Sasuke inside what looked to me like a man's body from the waist up, only it was about seven feet tall and made of flames. The masked man, Madara I suppose, said he would see us all again then simply vanished into some kind of ocular jutsu."

Itachi was confused. "What makes you think it was an ocular jutsu, Lord Hiashi?" he asked after a moment.

Hiashi responded, "The vortex the man disappeared into originated at his eye, for one thing. For another, the chakra he used for the jutsu was all concentrated in his eye." Itachi looked at Hiashi and raised an eyebrow. "My Byakugan was active," the man explained. Itachi nodded in understanding.

Itachi finished, "Anyway, that's when we came here, we knew you'd need to hear this first."

Hiruzen bent and picked up his pipe. "You have done well, both of you," he said. "The man you fought, the one who claims to be Madara Uchiha, his presence in the village is now an S-rank secret, that does not leave this room, am I clear?" Both ninja nodded obediently. "We will need to find out who he really is, if, as you suspect, Itachi, he is not Madara Uchiha. We will also need to keep a much closer watch on Naruto and Sasuke here, lest he get his hands on one or both of them. Itachi, you may take Sasuke home, leave Naruto here, I will keep watch over him."

Itachi sighed. "He's the jinchuriki, right?" he asked. The Hokage nodded; no one who was awake was unaware of Naruto's status, so Itachi's words were legal. "He lives on his own...has no one to look after him, no one to train him, correct?" The Hokage nodded again, his eyes full of sadness; it was obvious to both Itachi and Hiashi that the Hokage dearly wished he could do more for the blond boy. Itachi sighed again. "It seems somehow he and Sasuke have become friends. I don't know or care how, but it has happened. As such, Lord Hokage, I must insist that he be given a proper home and care-taker. It would be unseemly for the brother of a Clan Head to be friends with an orphan."

The Hokage smirked. "Well put, Itachi," he said back. "I will look into this matter. Were it not for the other clans raising a huge stink about it, I would have taken the boy in myself." Suddenly, the aging man's face brightened. "I know! I'll have my son, Asuma, take him in! No one can complain about that. Asuma is not the head of our family, nor do I suspect he will ever be; I suspect that role will pass to Konohamaru in time. Also, our family has no seal like yours, Hiashi, so Naruto would not be enslaved. I see no way anyone can object to this."

Hiashi and Itachi smirked and nodded. It was good to see their leader could still be clever, devious, and sneaky when he needed to be. It was Hiashi who spoke next. "I am glad this arrangement has been reached," he said. "My clan owes Naruto a debt, and it wouldn't look good for us to allow him to continue to live alone under those circumstances. However, as you said, Lord Hokage, we cannot take him in ourselves due to the Caged Bird Seal. Please tell Asuma, if he ever needs assistance with Naruto, to look no further than the Hyuga. We will not forget the service this boy has done us."

Itachi looked at Hiashi curiously. "What debt do you owe Naruto?"

Hiashi gave the sleeping blond a small smile. "He saved our heiress's life."

Itachi thought about that a moment, then chuckled softly. "Four years old, and he's already endeared himself to two of Konoha's most powerful clans. This boy is destined for great things," he said.

Hiashi nodded. "So it would seem," he said simply.


	2. The 'Joys' of Fatherhood

Chapter 2

"WHAT?!" Asuma roared. He was so totally shocked by what his father had just said that he had dropped the cigarette from his mouth. Taking a moment and some deep breaths to think over what Hiruzen had just said, Asuma slowly calmed himself down. Returning his focus to Hiruzen, Asuma said, "Please tell me you didn't just ask me to take in a child, Father."

Hiruzen sighed. While not entirely unexpected, Asuma's reaction to his request was still disappointing. Setting his pipe aside, Hiruzen leaned forward in his chair, his fingers knitted together in front of his face, and looked Asuma straight in the eyes. "Yes, that's exactly what I did, Asuma," he said plainly.

Asuma's conflicting emotions were clear on his face. He wanted desperately to reconcile with his father, but, at the same time, he was absolutely terrified about taking in a child...what did he know about raising kids? "Why me? Why not just about anyone else in the village? And who is the kid anyway?"

"It's Naruto Uzumaki," Hiruzen replied. Asuma froze upon hearing that name. He looked at his father in unadulterated shock. "I think that should answer your other two questions as well," Hiruzen added after a moment.

"You want _me_ to take in Minato's kid?!" Asuma asked when he regained sufficient control of himself to speak.

It was Hiruzen's turn to look shocked. No one in the village knew who Naruto was, so how did Asuma? "How did you know?" he asked his son.

Asuma snorted. "Really, Dad? His name is Uzumaki, he has blond spiky hair, he loves ramen and pranking, and he's the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It doesn't take a Nara to figure out who his father was," he said back. Hiruzen chuckled slightly and shook his head at his son's comment; Asuma was right, which just made the village at large seem all the more idiotic, really.

After a moment, Hiruzen asked Asuma, "So, will you take him in?"

Asuma sighed. He knew that he'd have hell to face if he messed up with Naruto. At the same time, though, if he didn't do anything, he'd probably have a wrath even worse than hell to face. He remembered Kushina's temper all too well and would much rather never be at the receiving end of it again. He sighed again. There was now only one question that he didn't really have an answer to yet. "So, why me?" he asked again. "And don't give me the excuse you'll feed to the villagers, either, I want the real reason."

Hiruzen chuckled. "Well, I can't take the kid in. I'm too old, and the council would never sit for me having him. Hiashi can't take him in because of the Caged Bird Seal. Itachi will have his hands full taking care of Sasuke and himself, so I wouldn't dare ask him to do any more. All the other clan heads are out of the question since no one clan would allow them to have him for fear that clan–" Hiruzen stopped when Asuma held up a hand to interrupt.

"I know all of that, but I did say I want the real reason, not what you'll tell the villagers," Asuma said, his voice slightly annoyed.

"While it's true most of that is what I'll tell the villagers at large, it's also true," Hiruzen said. "As for the rest, I wish I could do more for the kid, but I can't. He's a good kid, he just needs someone to pay attention to him and acknowledge him for who and what he is...and I know you'll do that."

Asuma smiled; now they were getting to the real meat of the matter. "So, you chose me because you believe I will treat the kid right and not neglect or hurt him because he's the jinchuriki. I suppose the fact that I'm your son and you could easily check up on him if he's with me is just a convenient side effect, huh?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "It's true that I'd like to be able to check on him, but it wouldn't be anything against you, Asuma. I've come to see the kid as a grandson of sorts, and my checking on him would be out of regard for him, not any ill will toward you. I trust you, Asuma," he said seriously, his gaze boring a hole into Asuma's head.

Asuma got his father's message loud and clear: I trust you to take good care of him because, if you don't, I _will_ take care of you. "Thanks, Dad," he said. "Yeah, I'll take the kid in; I don't see how I could possibly not at this point. I suppose I should go meet him and introduce myself, then."

"That won't be necessary. Give me just a minute, and I'll call him in here. Also, Hiashi Hyuga told me to tell you that, if you ever need help with Naruto, you never need to look any further than the Hyuga clan," Hiruzen said. Asuma raised an eyebrow at that but decided to question his father about it later. Hiruzen called out, "Naruto! Come in here, please!"

The door to the Hokage's office opened slowly, and a small boy with blond spiky hair entered hesitantly. He turned to Hiruzen and asked, "Am I in trouble? I didn't do anything this time!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "No, Naruto, you're not in trouble. I want you to meet my son, Asuma," he said, gesturing to the third occupant of the room.

Naruto turned and looked at the indicated man. He saw a tallish man with brown eyes, short black hair cut in the same style as the Hokage's white hair, and a well-trimmed black beard. The man wore a blue long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, the typical flak jacket of high-ranked ninja, dark pants, and a black headband with the Leaf Village symbol on it around his brow. On a second pass over the man, Naruto's gaze was drawn to a white sash tied to the man's waist, which bore the symbol for "fire". The boy had never seen a sash like that, and he immediately determined to find out what it was. Stepping forward, he reached out to touch it.

Asuma watched the small boy inspecting him with mild amusement. The small boy's bright blue eyes were sharp, observant. The blond hair was a little _too_ like Minato's, and the mischievous glint in the eyes made them a little _too_ like Kushina's, though their color was just like Minato's. Asuma had to smile at the memories the boy's appearance alone invoked. When the boy stepped toward Asuma, however, he stepped backward just a bit to keep his precious sash out of the child's reach. Naruto looked up at Asuma, his eyes full of fear. Asuma smiled at the boy and told him, "It's nothing personal, kid, it's just that this sash is important to me, and I don't like others touching it."

Naruto smiled and rubbed the bottom of his nose with one finger. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know," he said, blushing slightly.

Hiruzen chuckled at the scene before him before speaking. "Naruto, Asuma has agreed to take you in and take care of you. You'll be living with him from now on."

Naruto looked up at Asuma in shock. Asuma smiled and nodded, then watched in wonder as the boy's emotions played out on his face. Naruto was torn. Should he accept this at face value, suspect Asuma or the Hokage of trying to bribe him...or even of trying to hurt him somehow? Asuma had never seen such a small child display such heartbreaking distrust. He stepped forward and knelt in front of the boy. Resting a hand on his shoulder, Asuma told the boy, "I know you've never had anyone before, Naruto, and I'm probably the last person in the world who should have a kid, but I promise you, I'll do the best I can to be the best dad I can be to you."

Naruto let Asuma's words sink in for a minute, then turned to Hiruzen. Naruto's blue eyes were filled with tears that threatened to burst from him at any moment. "I'll have a daddy?" he asked, his voice so filled with hope and fear that it was truly pitiable. Asuma felt his heart break at the words...and felt his resolve strengthen as he made up his mind that taking in this kid _was_ the right thing to do.

Hiruzen smiled at Naruto and nodded. "That's right, Naruto, Asuma will be your daddy," he said, realizing as he said it that that would make him Naruto's granddaddy.

Naruto turned back to Asuma, who was still smiling gently at the small boy. Much to Asuma's surprise, the boy suddenly ducked out of his hand and leapt at him, throwing his arms around his neck. Naruto held onto Asuma tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. Asuma, unsure how to take this, looked to his father, asking with his eyes what to do. Hiruzen mimed that he should hug the child, so Asuma slowly wrapped his arms around Naruto. To his surprise, he heard the boy's voice whispering into his shoulder through his sobs. "Daddy, Daddy," Naruto kept repeating over and over. Asuma smiled through the tears that were in his own eyes and held onto Naruto a bit tighter, promising himself that he would do everything he could for this child.

After a few minutes, Asuma realized that Naruto's sobs and whispers had fallen silent, and he slowly extracted himself from the boy's grip only to find he had fallen asleep. Smiling, he gently held the sleeping boy in his arms and carefully rose to his feet. Hiruzen smiled at the two of them. "You should pick up Naruto's things from his apartment after he wakes. It will help him to acclimate to a new home if he has some familiar things, I'm sure. Beyond that, I just need you to sign this," he said, producing a paper and sliding it across the table to Asuma. Asuma shifted Naruto into his off arm and signed the paper quickly. "That makes it official. Legally, Naruto is your child now."

Hiruzen's words hit Asuma like a ton of bricks. He had a child now! Naruto was his! Looking at the small boy nestled in his arm, though, he just couldn't bring himself to regret it, even for a moment. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he turned to his father and told him, "I'm going to take Naruto to his apartment and make us some lunch. After he wakes up and we eat, we'll pack up his stuff and get him moved into my place. Is there anything else you need with me today?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, that will be all, Asuma. I'll join you for dinner this evening to check on how things are going," he said with a smile. Asuma nodded, smiled, and left.

Making his way toward Naruto's apartments, Asuma got quite a few strange looks and even a few glares as people realized he was carrying Naruto. Asuma simply ignored the looks, meeting the glares with a blank stare. The villagers eventually just shrugged and told themselves this was just one more of Asuma's oddities.

Arriving at Naruto's apartment, Asuma looked around the tiny place and nearly cried at how depressing it was. Considering its occupant, the place was surprisingly tidy, but it was hard to be messy when the room was almost entirely empty. Naruto had a bed, a small table and chair, and the necessities for cooking and cleaning...and that was about it. His stove was tiny and lacked anything that could be fairly called an oven, his refrigerator was pitifully small and would probably hold a day worth of food at most, and his washer was so small Asuma had to wonder how the boy kept his clothes clean at all. He noticed there were some articles hanging outside to dry, which was explained by the lack of a dryer.

Sighing, Asuma set the boy down on his bed and turned his attention to the kitchen. He found instant ramen and very little else. Groaning to himself, he pulled out a couple packets of the stuff and began to boil water for the noodles. While Naruto was still asleep, Asuma stepped into the bathroom to clean himself up a bit; Naruto's sobbing had left his flak jacket a mess.

Naruto awoke slowly and looked around. The last thing he remembered was being in the Hokage's office and being told that Asuma would be his daddy. Yet...here he was, in his apartment, on his bed, alone. A cursory check of his apartment confirmed that he was alone. _"It must have been a dream,"_ he thought. Burying his face in his hands, the young boy began to cry. It was too cruel to have a dream like that that seemed so real actually be just a dream.

Asuma had just splashed some water on his face when he heard a sound coming from the main part of the apartment. Stepping out of the bathroom, he found Naruto sitting up on his bed and sobbing into his hands. Coming around in front of him, Asuma rested a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Naruto, what's wrong?" he asked, worried.

Naruto looked up and was surprised to find Asuma looking at him in obvious concern. "It...was real?" Naruto asked. Asuma nodded. Naruto launched himself off the bed and into Asuma's arms, hugging him as hard as he could. Asuma hugged back and patted the boy's small back. Eventually, Naruto extracted himself from Asuma's grip and smiled. "I was so afraid it was just a dream," Naruto said quietly.

"It's real, Naruto," Asuma reassured the boy. "I'm here for you now." With that, the man rose and went back to the kitchen to finish making ramen for them both. "After we eat lunch, we're going to pack up your stuff and move you into my place," Asuma said over his shoulder.

Naruto looked up in shock at the man's words. "Why can't we stay here?" he asked. Naruto knew it was silly, but this was his place! He didn't want to leave it, even if he _was_ going somewhere better.

Asuma chuckled at the innocent question. "This place isn't big enough for us both, Naruto," he said back. "Don't worry, there's plenty of space at my place. You'll even have your own room." As he said this, the water boiled, and he removed it from the heat and poured it into the ramen cups. "We'll eat first, then get your stuff packed up and move you to your new home."

Naruto got off his bed and made his way to the table. Asuma set one of the cups in front of the boy. Naruto peeled the lid off and began to eat. Asuma ate his own cup of ramen and watched Naruto's enthusiastic eating with an amused glint in his eyes. "You like ramen?" he asked.

Naruto looked up at Asuma with a curious look. "Doesn't everyone?" he asked back. "It's only the greatest food in the world!"

Asuma barely managed to swallow down the ramen in his mouth rather than spewing it everywhere. Once his throat was clear, he burst into loud, raucous laughs. It took Asuma several minutes to calm down enough to speak again, and Naruto spent the intervening time with a curious look on his face; he clearly thought Asuma had lost his mind. "What is so funny?!" he asked once Asuma's laughs had receded to chuckles.

Asuma shook his head. "Nothing, Naruto, nothing at all, I just haven't heard anyone say that in a long time," he said, not wanting to tell Naruto about his real parents just yet. He knew the four-year-old would be anxious to tell _everyone_ who his parents were if he knew.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Asuma questioningly, but he decided to let it go for the time being. After all, he had ramen! Shrugging, he turned his attention back to his food. Asuma chuckled softly, thinking to himself that the village had to be full of total morons for them to have not realized who this boy's parents were. Shaking his head, he returned his attention to his own food. Within minutes, both were finished eating.

"Now, Naruto," Asuma began, gaining Naruto's attention. "We need to get you packed up so we can move you to my place. What all do you have that you want to bring with you?"

Naruto looked around his small apartment, the sparseness of his belongings really sinking in to the small boy for the first time, though he had seen them everyday. The only things he really wanted to bring with him were a few small things sitting on his nightstand. Sighing deeply, Naruto told Asuma, "Unless I'll need my bed or table or something, all I really want to have with me is the stuff there," and pointed at his nightstand.

Asuma briefly took stock of the things being indicated. He could probably carry all of that in his pockets and never even know he had it! He sighed deeply. _"I have GOT to get this kid some stuff!"_ he thought to himself. To Naruto, he said, "Go ahead and grab that, then, and we'll get going. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

Naruto swiped the few things he wanted, and the two departed from the apartment. Once they were outside and making their way down the street, Naruto asked, "What did you mean about us having a busy day, Daddy?"

Asuma chuckled briefly. _"That's going to take some getting used to,"_ he thought to himself. Resting a hand on Naruto's head, he responded, "You're going to need some new clothes and some other stuff, I'm sure. So we're going to go pick that stuff up before I take you home. And after that, we have to get you moved in, and I'm sure that will take some time, too, so we'll be busy most of the day."

Naruto smiled up at Asuma, his blue eyes bright with happiness at the prospect of spending the day with his new daddy. He didn't much care what they were doing, really, he was just enjoying spending time with someone for once. Having spent so much of his first four years of life alone had left him with an insatiable craving for human contact, and he was getting more of it today than he'd gotten in a _long_ time.

Asuma gave Naruto a brief smile before turning his attention back to the street ahead of them. In the midst of a crowd, Asuma spotted a familiar face. Taking Naruto's hand in his gently, much to the blond's surprise, he said, "This way," and directed Naruto toward the person he had just spotted.

Upon approaching the figure, whom Asuma had identified as Hiashi Hyuga, Naruto and Asuma noticed that the tall, dignified man was not alone; he had his daughter, Hinata, with him. Naruto hid behind Asuma's legs when Asuma greeted, "Hello, Hiashi."

Hiashi turned at the voice, not used to being addressed so familiarly. Upon seeing Asuma and Naruto, he gave a small smile and responded, "Oh, hello, Asuma. I see your father has told you of his plans for young Naruto."

As Hiashi spoke, Hinata had noticed Naruto's presence and was now hiding shyly behind Hiashi's legs and peeking at Naruto occasionally. Her peeks revealed a small blond boy with the spikiest hair she'd ever seen and crystal blue eyes that seemed to peer into her soul wearing a white shirt with an orange spiral and soft green pants. Hinata blushed but managed a small smile for the boy.

Naruto watched the girl hide and worried at first that she was afraid of him, but then he saw her smile. Naruto managed to smile back as he took a moment to look the girl over. She had pale skin, the unusual white eyes he'd noticed the day before, dark blue hair cut short with two strands framing her face, and a pretty smile. She was wearing a pale beige kimono that reached to below her knees.

Naruto tugged on Asuma's pants leg to get his attention. "Sorry, Hiashi," Asuma said and bent down to Naruto's level. "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto pointed toward the shy girl still hiding behind Hiashi's legs and asked, "Daddy, who's that?"

Asuma chuckled. "That's Hinata Hyuga. The man I'm talking to is her father, Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the Hyuga clan," he said quietly. "Do you want to talk to her?" Naruto nodded shyly. Asuma stood up and directed an amused smile to Hiashi. "Young Naruto here has expressed an interest in talking to your daughter, if that would be all right, Hiashi," he said, his voice and eyes betraying his mirth.

Hiashi chuckled, then bent down to Hinata. The man whispered something, Hinata nodded, and Hiashi gently pushed her forward. "Naruto, I would like to introduce my daughter, Hinata, to you," Hiashi said formally. Hinata managed to direct a shy smile to Naruto.

Naruto slowly slid around Asuma's leg, a shy expression on his own face. "Hello, Hinata," he said, "it's nice to meet you." With some slight prompting from Asuma, he bowed to her. Asuma smiled at him approvingly. Naruto beamed.

Hinata blushed slightly and answered, "It's nice to meet you as well, Naruto." Hinata bowed her head slightly to Naruto before adding, "I must also thank you for the other night."

Naruto gasped. "So it was you!" he said. Hinata nodded. "I thought it was...but then...why did you just leave with that guy?"

Hinata blushed and looked down in shame. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "That was Ko, he's my bodyguard, and he made me leave. I wanted to at least stay and make sure you were okay, but he wouldn't let me. I'm so sorry."

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It's fine, I just...hoped we might be able to be friends," he said hesitantly.

"Of course!" Hinata said a little louder than she planned. Covering her mouth, she blushed again. "I'm sorry. Of course we can be friends," she said, more quietly this time, giving Naruto a happy smile.

Naruto grinned in return. _"This may be the best day of my life,"_ he thought to himself. It was true. After all, in this single day he had gained first a daddy and now a friend! "You're Hinata, right?" he asked, just to make sure he had the name right. Hinata nodded. "It's great to meet you, Hinata. I think my daddy is taking me somewhere today, and we have to get me moved into his place, but I hope I can see you around sometime."

"Of course you will," Hinata said with a giggle. "We'll be in the same class at the Academy soon."

Naruto smiled. "That's true, I guess. I hadn't thought of that," he said. To himself, he thought, _"This is perfect! Now I'll have _two _friends at the Academy! And they're both in my class, too!"_ He turned a beaming grin on Hinata, which made the girl feel somewhat faint and caused her to flee back behind her father's leg. Naruto chuckled and turned his attention back to Asuma, who was just bidding Hiashi farewell.

"It was nice to see you today, Naruto," Hiashi said pleasantly, "but Hinata and I must be moving on. We have much to do. I'm sure we'll see you again."

Naruto smiled and nodded, then bowed politely when Asuma prompted him to do so. The formalities accomplished, Naruto and Asuma parted from the two Hyugas and continued on their way toward a nearby store Asuma knew of where he planned to pick up some things for Naruto. Little did he know the experience would alter his view of the village and the world forever.


End file.
